For the end user, web proxies are great. They allow you to surf anonymously, and even better, bypass any content blockers that may be in place at your school or workplace. For the owner, they’re also great…in theory. Stick a couple of ads on there and let the dollars roll in. In practice, however, proxies will probably end up costing you more than you thought.

What you need

If you want to make a web proxy, it’s pretty simple. All you need is a domain name, a script, and a LOT of bandwidth. Add a couple of banner ads, advertise a little, you’ll be raking in the cash. Simple, right?

Wrong

First of all, the net is saturated with proxies. Here is a very short list. Unless your proxy is very fast, you’re not going to get a lot of useage out of it. On top of that, you can get into a lot of legal messes with proxies. You see, the anonymous browsing aspect of proxies make them very popular among those who would rather not have anybody see what they’re doing (people who might appear on To Catch a Predator, for example). All of that smut is flowing through your site, and it might just catch the FBI’s attention.

Another popular use of proxies online is crude denial of service attacks. The attacker(s) load the victim’s site through your proxy and have a script refresh the page 10,000 times, downloading it over and over again. This not only spikes the victim’s bandwidth bill, but yours as well. All of those attacks point to your site’s IP, so now you have to deal with an angry site owner in addition to possible criminal investigation.

It’s the publicity that kills you

Proxies are mainly used by people who want to cover their tracks. Do you want their filth tacked onto your name? I didn’t think so. You may make a few bucks from ad sales, and if you manage to avoid being bandwidth raped, you may actually turn a profit. It’s only a matter of time, though, until your proxy lands you in the middle of a legal minefield, and I doubt that it’ll be worth the headache.